3.5G Betta Paludarium for my Office
 

History of Tank

The 3.5G is a rimless rectangular tank with black silicone. I bought it in early 2011 to house a half-moon betta. Went for a short vacation, came back home and there he is lying dry on the floor... :eek:

Then i decided to start a shrimp tank. I had a couple of danios from my 10g, so I temporarily put them in the tank after to help with the cycling. Have been rearing Cherry red shrimps for a months plus, then I realized how heavy maintenance it is to have a cherry shrimp. A little shift in water conditions, and they molt, if they're not ready to molt, they'll die molting. Also, I was having trouble to get some MALE shrimps to get them to breed. All I got from LFS seems to be female eventhough the shopkeeper says they are male..

But, Whatever, Now, I have a pretty betta in there. I haven't chose a name for him yet. I'll let my kid choose it for me later.

Current Spec:
3.5G.
Hob Filter
No CO2, No Ferts
Ikea Lamp with CFL bulb.
ADA Soil Amazonia
Ambulia
Bacopa
Rotala of some sort
Couples of DW that looks like a sunken ship!

Current Condition of the tank

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_3538.jpg

Ok, here are some pics... finally I got 3 Red Cherry Shrimps.

The Tank: (3-4gallon ish)
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_2344.jpg

Close up:
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_2341.jpg

Another shot:
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_2342.jpg

I notice one of the shrimp is doing swimming laps.. while the other 2 just grazing around. I guess I got 1 male and 2 female (not really sure). But I hope so...

I am planning to add some stem plants on the left later. Probably just take some from my 10g.

COMMENTS?

very nice im planning on making a similaiar tank that is longer with jars for the shrimp to clean i like that moss, and i was also thinking of a stem plant like a banana for the shrimp i like it so far.

i also noticed you filter has no sponge on it your shrimplets might get sucked in

Good thing u mentioned it. I totally forgot about the sponge!!

Looking good

sure thing wouldnt want those pretty shrimps in the filter

You can get a filter sponge at any big box pet store. Most of them carry the one that fits on the filter for the Fluval Edge, and that should fit right on your filter with no problems.

I just spotted one of them climbing my DW mountain and I swear I could hear him say "I'm on top of the world!!!"

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_2349.jpg

:)

That's a nice picture! Cool tank too!

Good start! That tank looks way bigger than 3.5 gallons. That's a compliment.

The best part of multiple tanks is you can share parts, pieces, and plants to make them look better. The bad part is more water changes!

Sometimes I was much happier with my inexpensive tank made from spare parts than I was my big expensive fancy tank. Maybe you'll find the same.

Ok, I did a rescape. Ditched the java fern. Removed some mosses. Dropped in a big chunk of rock in the middle. Planted some DHG(?), and rotala (taken from my 10g). IMO it looks better, but I feel there are still more room for improvements.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...z/IMG_2363.jpg

I like the changes, but I would suggest moving the rock over a tad more to the left so they are less centered.

Good idea. I think it will be better with the rock at left side as well now that u mentioned it.

Bad news. Second shrimp died on me. He started off being inactive (not grazing, but just sit around with less movements).. then suddenly he just died.

There is now 1 shrimp in there, and he is looking pretty healthy, actively grazing on the mosses and plants.

I think the main reason for the death is the non proper acclimation. Getting more shrimps today.